War veterans ready to lead Zanu-PF to victory

ZANU-PF secretary for War Veterans Affairs, Douglas Mahiya has said veterans of the liberation struggle are geared to lead Zanu-PF to victory in the coming harmonised elections as they are the backbone of the party.

Speaking during a war veterans, heroes' dependents and war victims interactive meeting in Gwanda recently, Mahiya said veterans of the liberations struggle have to bear in mind that no other Government can prioritise their welfare except the Zanu-PF led Government.

He said the mandate of war veterans according to the Zanu-PF constitution is to protect the interests of the party and its leadership.

Mahiya said without the leadership that the country and Zanu-PF have today, war veterans would be doomed and ultimately the entire nation.

Government under the Second Republic has been working on modalities to facilitate support to war collaborators, culminating in the vetting process that is now complete.

"The Zanu-PF constitution acknowledges the role which was played by those who fought in the liberation struggle. War veterans are the backbone of the party. If we don't put in place a strong foundation to protect what we fought for and this country ends up in the hands of those people that we were fighting against, then we would be failures," he said.

"The 2023 harmonised elections will be held soon and what's important is that Zanu-PF has to win. The nuclear, mechanisms and apparatus are war veterans. No one speaks better about Zanu-PF than the war veterans.

"No one is as committed and loyal to Zanu-PF as war veterans. War veterans speak, walk Zanu-PF and they are committed to Zanu-PF. We are the last line of defence for this nation."

Mahiya said possible failure by Zanu-PF to win means war veterans would have failed to play their role.

 He said war veterans should apply the same determination they had in liberating the country to ensure that the revolutionary party wins the forthcoming elections.

Mahiya said only a Zanu-PF Government can prioritise the welfare of war veterans.

He said Government has deliberately created the Department of War Veterans to spearhead programmes that cater for the welfare of war veterans.

Mahiya said this department will not leave out the welfare of other organs that played a part in the liberating the country such as detainees, non-combatant cadres and even widows of veterans of the liberation struggle.

He said interactive meetings will be held quarterly with line Ministries to find out what is being done to mainstream needs of war veterans.

"The Department of War Veterans under the Ministry of Defence and War Veterans Affairs is in the process of implementing the Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Act. There is need for a statutory instrument that speaks to the 20 percent quota system for veterans of the liberation struggle to ensure that all Government ministries comply. We want to hold these interactive meetings with Government ministries to find out what they are doing to accommodate war veterans," he said.

"We want to find out what is being done to ensure that war veterans have houses, land, mines, jobs among other benefits. This is important because the opportunities that citizens of the country enjoy today came as a result of the intervention and sacrifices of war veterans. Can we also have war veterans, their wives and children being employed within the public service?"

Mahiya said war veterans have to benefit from resources which are within their areas.

He said the Ministry of Mines has to apply the use it or lose it policy for land which is under Exclusive Prospecting Orders (EPOs) to allocate claims to war veterans.

Also speaking during the same meeting Matabeleland South Provincial and Devolution Minister Abedinico Ncube said despite having played a major role in liberating the country, war veterans continue to live in unfavourable conditions.

He said engagement with various Government departments is key in ensuring that war veterans get the recognition which is due to them.